# Qian Liu

> Qian Liu is a fintech operator and data scientist who helped build the robo investing movement from the inside. A computer scientist by training - PhD in machine learning from Penn, BS from Tsinghua - she was an early member of the Wealthfront founding team and its Director of Research, then Head of Data at GoFundMe, then Chief Data Officer at Guideline, the small-business 401(k) platform. When Gusto acquired Guideline, she moved into a leadership role at Gusto, where the brokerage entity sits inside its HR, payroll and benefits platform serving small and medium businesses. In 2024 she co-authored 'The Little Book of Robo Investing' with Elizabeth MacBride, turning a decade of building automated investing products into a plain-spoken guide for ordinary savers.

- **Role:** Leadership / Brokerage executive at Gusto
- **Organizations:** Gusto, Guideline, GoFundMe, Wealthfront
- **Nationality:** American (born in China)
- **Education:** BS, Computer Science, Tsinghua University, MS, Computer Science, University of Pennsylvania, PhD, Computer Science (machine learning / bioinformatics; advisers Fernando Pereira and David Roos), University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Early member of the Wealthfront founding team that helped create the robo investing movement, Led research and development of automated investment products as Wealthfront's Director of Research, Built and led data functions at GoFundMe and Guideline as Head of Data and Chief Data Officer

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Joins Wealthfront as an early member of the founding team
- **2009-2015** — Director of Research at Wealthfront, leading research and development of automated investment products
- **post-2015** — Head of Data at GoFundMe
- **later** — Chief Data Officer at Guideline, the small-business 401(k) platform
- **2024** — Co-authors 'The Little Book of Robo Investing' with Elizabeth MacBride (Wiley, March 2024)
- **2024-2025** — Moves to Gusto following Gusto's acquisition of Guideline; leadership role in Gusto's brokerage / benefits operation

## Achievements

- Early member of the Wealthfront founding team that helped create the robo investing movement
- Led research and development of automated investment products as Wealthfront's Director of Research
- Built and led data functions at GoFundMe and Guideline as Head of Data and Chief Data Officer
- Co-authored 'The Little Book of Robo Investing: How to Make Money While You Sleep' (Wiley, 2024)
- Earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS from Tsinghua University
- Holds the CFA charter plus FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses

## Latest updates

- **2024-03** — Published 'The Little Book of Robo Investing: How to Make Money While You Sleep' with co-author Elizabeth MacBride (Wiley).
- **2024-12** — Joins Gusto following its acquisition of Guideline; brings the company's retirement and brokerage data expertise onto Gusto's HR and payroll platform.

## Links

- Website: https://gusto.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qian-liu-381a694/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/qian-liu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-08